New Brunswick Reverses Approval of BC Law School

Concept drawing of Trinity Western University's School of Law.

The Law Society of New Brunswick voted not to approve Trinity Western University (TWU)'s law school on Saturday, despite previously accrediting it in June.

The society held a special general meeting for the decision about TWU's proposed law school program after a written request to reconsider the accreditation. The vote was 137 to 30 to not approve the program, though the society reportedly has nearly 1600 members.

This action is in relation to TWU's requirement that students, faculty, and staff enter into a Community Covenant Agreement that prohibits “sexual intimacy that violates the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman”. The university has been under fire from many organizations since who protest that the law school is anti-gay and homophobic. Many law societies have not approved the faculty of law on these grounds, including the Law Society of British Columbia.

According to the Law Society of New Brunswick, the reconsideration was based on the Law Society Act of 1996 that says they must “uphold and protect the public interest in the administration of justice” as well as “preserve and protect the rights and freedoms of all persons.”

TWU has previously commented against the backlash, saying that it is a private Christian university whose students choose to come there. It has also referred to their teacher program, which also came under fire in 2001. In that case, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the British Columbia College of Teachers had to approve the program and that the refusal to approve the program went against the students' minority religious rights.

The law program is supposed to start in September 2016.